An engaging program

The program offered a diverse range of workshops, podium discussions, skill-building sessions, and lectures on various topics. The event provided opportunities for networking through snack tables, workshops, and open discussion formats. In the evening, there were fun meeting programs such as speed dating, board games, and a science slam where scientists presented their research in a quick and humorous way.

With hundreds of possible options to choose from, I sometimes felt overwhelmed, but I was able to attend some activities that were valuable to me. One workshop that I particularly enjoyed was about constructive journalism, which provided practical information on climate communication to the public – a skill that may be just as critical as climate research itself.

Different views

During an event, I had the opportunity to personally meet the ambassador of the United Arab Empire. We discussed the upcoming COP28 (2023) in Dubai and exchanged views about the representation of the global south, the expectations of the host nation, and the interplay of diplomacy, geopolitics, and climate action. Despite the nation’s reputation as an oil-rich country, I found it interesting to have a face-to-face conversation about these issues. It was fascinating to observe how diplomats and politicians can talk about something without saying much. When I asked about behaviour changes and disruptive transformations, the ambassador’s response was deeply rooted in the current system logic along the lines of “technology will save us”. Although this was partly frustrating, I felt that everyone ended up learning something from each other.

It was truly inspiring to witness young people from diverse backgrounds actively participating in discussions, workshops, and panels with an incredible level of knowledge about sustainability. Even high school students, as young as 17 years old, were able to comprehend and effectively communicate the urgency of environmental problems to older politicians, which gave me hope for the future. Overall, the LCOY was a weekend well spent with great company, valuable insights, and engaging discussions. It was a reminder that each one of us can be an agent of change!

The post Empowering the Young – Visiting the LCOY Climate Conference 2023 appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

Two seconds

Three seconds

Four seconds

Five seconds

Every minute, forest areas of the size of 50 soccer fields are lost.
Every minute, every day.

Today, March 21st 2018, we celebrate the International Day of Forests. Ever since 2013, this date calls for global awareness on the degrading state of forests worldwide. It takes only one day in our calendars for us to remember how dependent mankind’s survival is on the  lungs of the planet.

With the current rate of deforestation, there will be no forests left within the next 100 years. The loss, degradation and conversion of forests threaten our survival.

“We are on the verge of destroying the perfect balance that nature has created for the wellbeing of human beings. Halting deforestation is not about saving the planet , it’s about ensuring the human well-being. The Earth will survive us and has done so for 4.5 billion years, she is much older and wiser.“
– Christiana Figueres (Former UNFCC Executive Secretary, 2018)

Certainly, once forests or green shelters and sources of life are lost, services and goods provided by nature also disappear. The maintenance of human well-being is then a question of time: how long can we survive with a degrading nature around us? Certain regions of the world already know the devastating answer.

Photos by Carla Madueño

We can stop thinking drama, and start thinking solutions

Today, we must talk about hope and urgency put into action. And there are certain actors and voices out there that I would like to remind you of today: Youth.

On the international day of forests, I want to send a big call to Youth around the globe teaching us every day how to stand on our young feet for a forest-friendly society.

• Youth teaches us that warriors can all have all ages, since what really matters is the strength of the own conviction.
• Youth teaches us that they are real cultural and intergenerational bridges that catalyze people’s fears and challenges.
• Youth teaches us that inclusive dialogue and participation is possible and necessary.
• And among all, youth helps people recover relations with the forests.

Youth is key in healing a broken world, through intergenerational reconciliation.

If you don’t believe youth can be an empowering and strong ally to protect forests, here are some examples:

Planting trees with only 9 years old: Back in 2007, a 9-year old German boy Felix Finkbeiner inspired by a school assignment imagined children planting 1 million trees in every country on Earth. His movement spreaded quickly throughout Germany and the Globe and by 2011 achieved with the help of other children planting a total of 1 million trees around the world.

Two sisters from Bali banned plastic from entire island: The Wijsen sisters from Bali are the living example that empowered and determined youth can solve the plastic pollution challenge. The young sisters, Melati and Isabel, successfully campaigned 4 years to get plastic bags banned from the Bali island. Indonesia is the 2nd largest plastic polluter in the world, after China.

“If we could meet with world leaders and speak to them, we would tell them to listen more to the youth, consider us as more than just inspiration. We have bright innovative ideas of how to deal with some of the greatest issues of our time”
– Wijsen sisters

Leave the smartphone, reconnect with your closest forest

May our decisions enlighten not a brighter future, but a greener present. Science and politics talk about changes to be carried out by 2030, 2050 or next millenia to protect forests. I believe that we simply cannot wait for decades to solve our greatest challenges.

On March 21st 2018, we stand for a change – now and not tomorrow.

Today, take a moment off, go to the closest forest or green space in your city, your village or town. Think about the impacts of your lifestyle, reconnect with nature, discover life beyond human beings and beyond the concrete jungle.

Meditate on the lives on the other side of the smartphone. Celebrate the hidden, still unknown and sheltered life in our green forests (and outside the scope of the International Day of Forest, celebrate also life in our blue oceans).

Stop thinking drama,
Start thinking solutions,
Stand up for forest protection
Empower Youth as forest warriors.

The post A youth pledge on forest’s day appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

1. What is the World Climate Simulation?

Developed by the think tank Climate Interactive, in partnership with the MIT School of Management and the University of Massachusetts Lowell, the World Climate simulation is a simplified UN negotiation. The model uses C-ROADS – a climate policy software – where agreed climate policies are entered and climate patterns get projected until the end of the century. Having had so far an astonishing success, this simulation has been carried out since 2008 over 800 times with over 38000 participants worldwide.

“Education is our strongest weapon to fight Climate Change”

When I first heard about World Climate, I was captured by the convincing arguments – such as the one above – shared during the Education Side Events at COP23 in Bonn. Motivated by the positive impacts this simulation has had and as a Global Change Ecology Master student, I decided to share with young future Latin American leaders this learning experience as well.

2. Game participants: Latin American young graduates

With the support of the KAAD (Catholic Academic Exchange Service) and as part of the Latin American Seminar for scholarship holders held from 2nd-4th February 2018, the World Climate simulation was carried out with 32 participants from 13 different countries.

The weekend-long seminar offered cross-sectorial training for Latin Americans studying in Germany. The seminar focused on the topic “El Buen Vivir” or “good living”, an alternative development concept that gathers South American indigenous wisdom to deliver sustainable answers to current social and environmental challenges.

Within this framework, the World Climate simulation aimed to put participants in the spotlight and give them the responsibility to take political decisions that affect mankind’s and nature’s future with the goal of achieving the good common life.

3. Let the game start

The 32 graduate students from 13 different nationalities were divided for the World Climate Simulation into 6 regional groups to represent China, India, European Union, USA, Other developed countries and Other developing countries. The simulation was carried out in the following way: As a facilitator I welcomed participants, introduced them to the C-ROADS model and World Climate simulation. I also made participants aware of the realistic (scientific facts and emotions) and unrealistic (simulated negotiation) elements of the simulation.

The simulation started when I (as facilitator) adopted the role of Patricia Espinosa (UNFCCC) and participants adopted their respective roles as nation’s delegates.

Photos courtesy of: Yasuo Matsuzaki

Overall, the workshop took about 2.5 hours. Key scientific facts about the Climate Change problematic were introduced first with a slide presentation and handouts to participants (materials available here).

There were two negotiation rounds, each of 20 minutes, after which proposals by delegates were collected on a flipchart and then entered in the C-ROADS software. In the first round the negotiations led to a projected temperature by the year 2100 of about 3.1°C, after the second round, negotiations improved the climate outlook with a 2.9°C temperature increase, thus not meeting the expected Paris agreement goals.

After the negotiations the role-play session concluded. Participants gathered in a circle to give their impressions of the session.

A 2.9°C warmer world, can we do better?

The impressions of the session focused on three key questions: (1) How did you feel during the simulation? Weak or powerful? (2) What were your most important learnings? (3) How do you think we could achieve the ambitious climate action?

Participants highlighted the powerful impact the simulation has left on them, as they experienced directly the need for more ambitious political and civil society initiatives. Participants also brainstormed on solutions from their own professional backgrounds, starting with sustainable consumption, trade and markets, education for sustainability and legal and fiscal mechanisms so implement political action.

There is space for improvements

Here I list some aspects for further improvements when running the World Climate simulation

1. Briefing statements could contain more concrete economic facts for region delegates to negotiate better. Sending reading material in advance may also help.
2. Having “developing countries” delegates sitting on the floor to metaphorically refer to unbalanced geopolitical relations may not be the best call. Ask in advance, as participants may take this personally. Alternatively find milder ways of representing power relations in the simulation.
3. Adapt examples of climate change impacts to your audience backgrund. I used Latin American cases, to engage Latin American audience with at-home ongoing issues.

Emotions were key, audience became aware, goal was achieved

As an individual aiming to spread the word for climate action outside the scientific circles, the opportunity to run the World Climate simulation with a very diverse audience was deeply motivating, empowering and touching.

It was truly fantastic to see how, regardless of the professional background, participants would engage and discuss the urgent need to limit global warming by the end of the century in our small simulated world that day.

Professionals from different fields such as international business, history, medicine, law and even philosophy would leave their “comfort zones” for two hours and experiment in the roles of politicians and advocates to decide for what is good for one or for all nations.

Personally speaking, it was touching to see how the message of climate action can and must spread outside the barriers of natural science. I closed that day’s World Climate session by reminding the participants that having a more powerful role in society was in fact not needed, as our position as organized and aware citizens in society is in fact powerful enough.

The World Climate simulation is a strong tool that beyond a climate action narrative, sends out a message of strength and empowerment, especially important for youth leaders from the global south.

Within the framework of the good common life or “Buen vivir”, the lesson learnt as professionals, regardless of the role or position we may have, is that we shall never forget that life on this planet is our highest responsibility and main goal. That is what Climate Action stands for.

Special thanks

The World Climate simulation was possible thanks to the KAAD Catholic Exchange Service support and thanks to the facilitator advices provided by Eduardo Fracassi (ITBA Instituto Tecnologico de Buenos Aires, Argentina).

References

• World Climate simulation website
• Facilitator Resources and Materials here
• To play around: C-ROADS online
• KAAD press release here

The post 13 countries, one game – A call for Climate Action appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

Giving youth a voice since 1945

The European Forum Alpbach is a think-tank and interdisciplinary platform for science, politics, business and culture established in 1945. Every year it addresses relevant socio-political questions of our time in a fun, interactive andopen way to inspire social debates.

This year’s EFA18: Diversity and resilience

In 2018, the EFA will be all about “Diversity and Resilience”: an extremely relevant topic that defines our age of rapid transformations. Now more than ever we hear from all possible sides how systems are changing and questions arise whether diversity in financial, technological, human and environmental terms is or not driving the change and whether or not it can provide resilience, prosperity and success for manifold human and environmental systems.

Participate as an scholarship-holder

As a scholarship-holder sponsored by the European Forum Alpbach you will have an unforgettable academic and social learning experience! You will witness how think-tanks can foster international dialogue and gather young agents of change to share their ideas, passion and motivation – Carla Madueño, EFA17 participant

Students willing to expand their bag of ideas are encouraged to apply, as topics range from sustainability issues to ethics in economics, grassroots politics and social movements, law, technology and development, education, finances and markets, and many more.

Don’t miss out the opportunity to meet fascinating people from all over the world and spread the momentum for change in the heart of the Austrian Alps.

What are you waiting for?

Apply until March 30, 2018 (11:59 noon CET). If not convinced yet, get inspired & watch the video here.

Application links

• European Forum Alpbach Homepage
• EFA Scholarship Program and Online application
• Testimonials by former scholarship-holders: Humans of Alpbach
• Participant Report EFA2017
• Contact Author for further details

The post Apply now for a scholarship to attend the European Forum Alpbach appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

Being the only participant from Armenia, I would like to share my experience as well as do my best in involving Armenians in the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15.2 Halting deforestation target.

To halt agriculture or not – that is the question

Since a lot has been said about the conference, I would rather concentrate on its “gaps”. One fundamental statement of the conference was “industrial agriculture is the main driving force of deforestation”.

But first wait. Do we all know what really drives agriculture? Let’s think about those developing countries whose economies mainly depend on agriculture. Would it be possible for a country that cannot even fill their people’s stomachs to start caring about the environment and the future of the planet? I don’t really think so.

Halting deforestation but promoting at the same time Zero Hunger (SDG goal 2.4) may therefore not align at first sight. The Halting Deforestation conference could have addressed this issue better by focusing on people’s current needs rather than on future political agendas. Discussions left out of sight opportunities for agricultural sustainability that maintains ecosystems, strengthens climate change adaptation capacity and extreme weather resilience (droughts, floods, and other disasters) as well as progressive improvement of land and soil quality.

Yes. 80% of deforestation is caused by agriculture,  but for some countries agriculture is the only way to keep their economy running and to secure livelihoods.

Other drivers of deforestation that weren’t assessed

Even though the conference served its purpose by reviewing on-the-ground initiatives to combat deforestation, it didn’t directly reduce the risk of nor provide immediate solutions to deforestation. Evidently, there were some drivers of deforestation left out of the discussion:

• Extractive activities: Industrial logging and mining (private sector representatives largely absent)
  
• Energy and transport: biomass energy questions raised by audience never answered)
  

If not aware of the real dangers yet, we can perhaps make an urgent call with the case of Mining in the Amazon Rainforest.

To halt or not illegal mining in the Amazon

In the Amazon region, logging and mining are the main environmental threats. Both destroy the forest and are slowly converting this major carbon sink into a carbon source, counteracting climate change.

Since 2000, mining in the Amazon region has been actively developed, destroying more than 10% of the Amazon Rainforest. According to the WWF, iron, gold and copper are found in the Amazon forest and the overexploitation of these minerals is increasing dramatically.

Gold mining is however not only bad for the environment but has also chronic socioeconomic consequences. As our Peruvian GCE Student Carla Madueño explains in the following lines:

“Illegal mining in the Amazon is a matter of concern for all. This rainforest is also called green gold that must be cut down so that illegal workers can extract the precious gold contained in the soils of protected forests. The use of highly toxic metals (cyanide, metal oxides, mercury, sulfuric acid) poses an immediate health threat to humans and the entire biome. 

Yes 40 % of our Peruvian Amazon soils are rich in gold, but 100% are rich in green gold (biodiversity and ecosystem services).
That is the real opportunity we must not miss, as it is our own human survival that depends on it.

Peru’s rainforests are rich in gold. That is our blessing and curse. 40% of the soils of the Peruvian Amazon region are estimated to contain gold, which has been transported throughout millenia with erosion mechanisms from the upper Eastern Andes to the lower Western Amazon basin.”

Mining in the Amazon forest is by far not the only example. Ghana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, the Congo basin, Indonesian forests and the Philippines suffer currently under illegal and unmanaged mining.

Take home message: Youth must halt deforestation

We do believe that youth is the future and a strong driver forwards. Any problem can be solved with the support and efforts of the youth. For instance, the Wijsen sisters banned plastic in Bali and the Dutch boy Boyan Slat is fighting for plastic-free oceans.

We believe international youth organizations such as IFSA and the Youth in Landscapes Initiative are as well brilliant examples of youth caring for the environment and connecting cross-sectoral to the rest of the world to figure out solutions now.

About

Main author Lilith Musinian , co-author Carla Madueño.

Related material

• United Youth to halt deforestation (Blog entry here)
  
• Become an export now! IFSA short course on halting deforestation
• Halting deforestation Photo Gallery by FAO Forestry

The post Shortcomings of the UN Halting Deforestation conference appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

The Capacity Development Workshop held on Monday February 19th, was led by the International Forestry Student Association (IFSA), the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) and trained 50 international Youth delegates on accelerating efforts to halt deforestation. Furthermore, Youth proposals were collected for later High Level UN Political Agendas.

Halting or not halting deforestation, that is the question

Forests are our best asset to combat climate change and they are key in securing food, water and ecosystem services for mankind survival. Despite of their fundamental role to sustain life on this planet, we keep on losing them at terrifying annual rates.

With the current rate of deforestation, there will be no forests left within the next 100 years.

Given that deforestation is in the eyes of a conservationist an ecological tragedy and in the eyes of the investor a money-making opportunity, we need to reconcile these opposing interests.

Youth ideas feed UN Plan for Forests

In order to contribute to and accelerate global forest goals and SDGs, the workshop in the morning of February 19th led by Wageningen University (Netherlands) collected Youth proposals for the Halting Deforestation Conference (CPF). Discussions went about how to have an integrated management of lands at the landscape level: where different actors of society, different land use types and different instutional frameworks are best combined to ensure forests protection and sustainable management.

Desmitifying Gender in Forest Conservation Efforts

After the morning session on the Landscape approach, the noon session led by Taylor Tondelli (FAO) touched with the Youth delegates on the importance of mainstreaming gender in efforts to halt deforestation. To see, what we did exactly, check out the video below.

I found this group dynamic to be extremely mind-opening. Participants had assigned roles. We were all standing in one single line and as Ms. Tondelli would read statements we had to give either a step forward (yes) or backwards (no), depending on whether read power statements matched our roles. Example: one would give a step forward if in the role of a woman community leader one would have “political influence on the community” or a step backwards if “at night one wouldn’t feel secure to walk alone”. At the end of this power dynamic, assigned roles revealed high assymetries in power distribution across different societal actors.

Make our voices heard

Throughout the Capacity Development Workshop Youth delegates worked on global proposals to halt deforestation: ideas ranged from experimental urban jungles, to mainstreaming deforestation through comedy and art and music for collective awareness.

All Youth proposals were collected in the afternoon session by IFSA and GLF Sponsored Youth in Landscapes delegates. Youth Proposals to halt deforestation will contribute to the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2017 – 2030 and will be presented at the 13th Session of the UN Forum on Forests this May.

Finally, selected Youth delegates prepared online content for the IFSA short course on Halting Deforestation. You can see here, what the results of these hours working on solutions are.

Quick links

IFSA Short course on deforestation Check out now (!)

Halting Deforestation Conference

The post United Youth in Rome to halt deforestation appeared first on Global Change Ecology.